Hobart officials believe levee bill will pass without revisions

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Updated: March 17, 2012 10:28AM

HOBART — Councilman Dave Vinzant, D-4th, said Wednesday that proposed legislation concerning operation and maintenance of the Little Calumet River levees most likely will pass as written, despite objections by Hobart and other municipalities.

“Given what I saw today, I think it will pass as is,” Vinzant said following the Hobart City Council meeting.

Vinzant said he and Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist went to Indianapolis earlier in the day to ask for changes to House Bill 1264 during a Senate committee hearing. He said they are not opposed to the bill itself, but wanted some amendments.

While Hobart and other area municipalities on the east side of Interstate 65 have indicated they would like a tiered payment system, with those living closer to the river paying more, and Porter County to be included in the payment structure as well, Vinzant said Soderquist thought they should focus on where the money raised from a proposed $45 annual fee should be spent.

“One change we tried to get was that the money be spent anywhere where the money is collected. We proposed it and no one liked it,” Vinzant said.

Under the proposed bill, every residential, agricultural and commercial and industrial parcel within the Little Calumet River and Burns Waterway watershed would pay between $45 and $360 per year for the Little Calumet River Basin Commission, but the money collected would be spent only within one mile of the river.

The money would be used to complete the project, maintain and operate the levees and pay back a loan from the Regional Development Authority. In return, those living close to the river to the west should pay less for flood insurance, or not have to pay at all.

Vinzant said about 15 people testified in favor of the bill as presented, most of whom were from the western portion of Lake County.

Vinzant said he also mistakenly thought the bill, which already overwhelmingly passed the House, was about flood control. He said it is, in fact, about building and maintaining levees.

“They would only spend the money east of I-65 to build more levees. It would not be about preventing flooding in Hobart, Lake Station, Merrillville or Crown Point,” he said.

Mayor Brian Snedecor said the fight is not over yet.

Vinzant said they might be able to get some adjustments to the bill at a later date.

The Hobart City Council last month unanimously approved a resolution opposing pending legislation to fund the Little Calumet River Basin Commission.